WWI 100th on Film: The Radical Shift from a Career in the Armed Forces

WWI 100th on Film: The Radical Shift from a Career in the Armed ForcesIBTimes UK

Of the millions of Britons joined the army, navy and Royal Air Force, to help their country fight in World War I, more than one in 10 never came home.

Thousands of those who did come back had severe injuries, and half a million ex-servicemen remained jobless by 1922.

Furthermore, they were also in competition with women, who had adopted many of the hard labour jobs that men left behind when they went to fight on the frontline.

However, fast forward 100 years and ex-armed forces personnel are shrugging off traditional physical security jobs when they leave the army, navy and RAF, as more opportunities in white collar work have become available.

In fact, thousands of former forces staff are shaping the new generation of financial services and IT industry landscapes.

As part of IBTimes TV's special series of videos looking at the First World War, we spoke to former army commanders and Royal Marine Commandos on how they made the move into white-collar work, as well as company directors who actively seek out ex-soldiers to form the new generation of project managers and sales teams.

Sean Farrington has been MD UK & Ireland and Regional vice president for northern Europe for Qlik since July 2009. Before garnering nearly two decades of experience in the business software and intelligence industries, he spent 14 years serving as a Commissioned Officer in the British Army.

He was also an Army pilot who flew the Lynx Helicopter in Germany, Northern Ireland and in Kuwait and Iraq during the first Gulf War.

IBTimes TV also caught up with Doug Tucker who served as a Royal Marine, after joining the army when he was 18 years old.

After leaving the forces, he cultivated a career in sales and has launched his own business that helps firms around the world train their sales staff, using attributes tailored for the military.

We also caught up with company executives and curators on how a career in the military has radically transformed a century later.